Telstra: Lumia 920 Windows Phone demand smashes expectations

We've been publishing a number of reports covering multiple retailers and carriers where initial stock of Lumia 920 Windows Phones has sold out. It appears this is a global issue right now, but who would have thought that Nokia would have a problem of getting enough Windows Phones into the market to meet demand?

As many have correctly pointed out, we're not entirely sure just how much stock was initially provided to select partners, but the fact we're seeing said companies reveal how the handset has surpassed expectations, we'd like to believe it can only be a positive result and demand is high. We've also seen this in the US with the amount of people waiting on (and complaining to) AT&T to start shipping Lumia 920s.

Australian carrier Telstra has publicly announced their stock has exhausted. Not only that, but the network also sent a tweet that read, "we did our best but demand was beyond amazing and stock has been limited globally from Nokia." I don't believe even Nokia planned for such a reception.

It was only yesterday when we covered Telstra's stock running out after just going online. This was coupled with UK retailer Clove who has also ran out of the Windows Phones. We contacted Clove and were informed the company is really pleased with demand shown for the handset (and Windows Phone in general).

We're certainly looking forward to Nokia's financial reports to see how the new Lumia Windows Phone family fares in the competitive market.

Telstra: Lumia 920 Windows Phone demand smashes expectations

Nokia Australia appears to have very limited supply and delay here in Australia. Harvey Norman have confirmed to me that there will be a delay on pre-orders of the 920, due to Nokia Australia. These were due to ship this week but have been pushed out until next week.

Absolutely a bit off topic, but the gray 920; ive been seeing it (and loving it) on a bunch of official launch graphics/photos from Nokia. But i havent seen it available for preorder anywhere here in Norway, where i live. Anyone know if it will launch alongside the others?

I think their financial report is going to look bad. They slowed their adoption rate to a crawl. I hold shares, and I'm ready to cancel my order. One Rule Of Sells. Never let a buyer work out empty handed.

The crazy thing is, you will have alot of people that see all this advertising and get excited about WP, only to walk into an at&t store or best buy and hear that nothing will be avail for a few more weeks then say forget that... Walk out with a galaxy s3. We were sooo close!

Ppls had to wait a month to get IPhone 5. If pple really want they will wait. It is not like pple just coming andif they dont have it in stock buy the next one a go.. I think both nokia and HTC underestimated the Demand. I am sure they will ramp up.
It depends on the product. If it is a great product it will continue selling month after launch. If it is somehting which is just vapor ware then yes you need to get it on pple hands soon before they get to know about the vapor ware. Either way, there will be new products being launched along with the 808 pure view i think in Feb. so pple will get more interested.. lets see.

Nokia is launching else where too.. I think they would ramp up demand.

Yeah, I would agree with this (if I may say so myself!). I know buddies who were iPhoniacs waiting to jump ship for a while but were waiting until availability of the 920. Additionally, there are other WP users I know that are waiting for availability on their carriers. Whatever the cause of the "limited availability" it is a positive thing and people who are really interested in it and not purchasing at-a-whim will wait. People were so angry ATT waited until the virtual last minute to announce availability, pricing, etc. as it is!

i played with the phone a few days ago and agree its worlds above the 900...i will be watching to see if they can maintain this momentum long enough to dent the markets. its a good year for all smartphone platforms! (except RIM)

as an ardent WP supporter, I still have to be skeptical about all these 'sell outs" and "incredible demand" stories. It seems to me Nokia has no concept of channel management. Sure they have deep channels throughout the world, but they have never done an iPhone like release scale. I think they have production ramped up at the same slow and steady levels as their Asha phones and that simply isn't gonna cut it.

Yes, its true. Those Lumia 920's were probably grey market imports from EU/somehwre else, since Nokia is not allowed to sell outside EE. I'm sure there will more 'truly unlocked' 920's coming to Uk, before the 3 month EE exclusitivity ends.

Telstra and other carriers/retailers underestimated the demand for Lumia 920 big time. The fact that they add JBL PlayUp speakers as a pre-order bonus, kinda proves that. They didn't expect it to sell because its 'Nokia', and because its 'Windows Phone'(2-3% marketshare.. maybe) and not Android/iPhone(96.5% install base in Au, if you trust statcounter). In a way I can understand the retailers. Many people consider Nokia phones to be ancient history. Nokia might have been very careful with the production line, because they didn't see very big demand for Lumia 920 from the retailers/carriers around the world. That is why they might have been careful with the small production line for Lumia 920.

Wp may just break(or get close to) double digits this year then. Honestly, that's all it takes. Once it hits 10% of market share it'll keep going up at a steady rate if the product is good enough. Our biggest issue is word of mouth about how easy the phone is to use and how well it does the things it does.As long as you don't look at apps which you shouldn't since that's a vicious circle. ("we won't buy your phone cause there is no apps" "we won't develop apps for your phone cause no one buys them")

The internet is adding a good amount of hype with the nostagia over the old 33XX devices though for durability, so that is timely and working in its favor, especially with the 900/920 holding it's own in torture tests. I think that, plus the underwhelming iphone 5, plus some good and favorable review coverage is starting to pay off.

Great news? I fail to see how this is good news. Telstra and Clove probably ordered 50+ something devices, and now they are pleased that they sold them. Not good for Windows Phone and not good for Nokia. I remember this being the case with Lumia 800/900. They were sold out in lots of places around the world for a long periods. But in the end Lumia 800/900 sales was a big failure.

Many people on EE's Community forums are also complaining on the shortage of the 920.... Luckily enough I got mine through Phones4U and got the Nokia NFC Speaker and Charger for free and had my phone last Saturday

Her is hoping we are still talking about demand like this in February and March. This is the hit Nokia needs to keep it WP only. Even if you prefer other manufacturers, a WP exclusive Nokia is good for our favorite OS.

HTC 8X's are even harder to find then Lumia 920's here in NYC. I know because I'm trying to return my 920 and get an 8x but the 8X's have not been available in any NYC att store since they sold out Friday.

What makes the 8X superior? Does it come with a ClearBlack OLED display with super-sensitive touch? And wireless charging? Besides the FFC all other components seem to be equal.

And yes, I know that the 8X may be more comfortable to use cause it's narrow, but we already established that's a matter of preference. And I'm seriously considering switching to a blue 8X from my red brick of 820.

The 8X also has a higher res screen. The 820 does also have the removable battery and an SD card slot though. Both phones are really good phones, but definitely go with what feels good to you! Love choice!

dude have you seen the superlcd2 screen on the 8x? it is far superior to any OLED you've seen trust me. it is still known as the best display to be out on any handset right now HTC takes that crown and they just manufactured the superlcd3 screen at 1080p so they will hold that crown again in 2013.

The screen is amazing. I have had this one on VZW for a week now and it is the best phone I have ever held. It is so comfortable and feels so small with the curved edges. Goes nicely in a pocket as well. The 822 on VZW sucks. Feels like a bulky brick.

I wouldn't get the HTC 8X; I had the chance to play with a pre-release version of the 8X at MS event. Don't get me wrong the 8x is a great phone, it feels very good in your hands, light as a feather, looks great BUT it lacks the kick @ss Nokia apps and it doesn't have the amazing Nokia lenses; the camera on the 8X is average at best. I sold my 8X on ebay a few weeks ago and got me the Lumia. A lot of people complain about the weight of the Lumia, indeed, it is a bit heavier than most phones but you get used to it; as far as some people experience short battery life, you have just to tweak a couple of quick settings in disable Nokia maps in the background. WITHOUT exaggeration, there are days that I spend as much as 4 on my cell phone, while sending/receiving texts and facebook, email, light browsing and other apps running on the background and at the end of the day I usually still have about 1/3 of the power left.

I wouldn't get the HTC 8X; I had the chance to play with a pre-release version of the 8X at MS event. Don't get me wrong the 8x is a great phone, it feels very good in your hands, light as a feather, looks great BUT it lacks the kick @ss Nokia apps and it doesn't have the amazing Nokia lenses; the camera on the 8X is average at best. I sold my 8X on ebay a few weeks ago and got me the Lumia. A lot of people complain about the weight of the Lumia, indeed, it is a bit heavier than most phones but you get used to it; as far as some people experience short battery life, you have just to tweak a couple of quick settings in disable Nokia maps in the background. WITHOUT exaggeration, there are days that I spend as much as 4 on my cell phone, while sending/receiving texts and facebook, email, light browsing and other apps running on the background and at the end of the day I usually still have about 1/3 of the power left.